Charter School Legal Services

About 130,000 Pennsylvania students attended charter schools during the 2013-2014 school year, according the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS). That comprises an increase of more than 300 percent from a decade earlier. The burgeoning growth of charter schools since the turn of the 21st century has offered new options to Pennsylvania parents who were looking for non-traditional school curricula and methods. Though publicly funded, charter schools in Pennsylvania have greater autonomy and freedom from state regulation than most public schools.

As charter school administrators have learned, however, implementing new methods often brings new challenges, including new legal issues. The education law attorneys of Raffaele Puppio help charter schools in Delaware County, southeast Pennsylvania, and beyond find their way through the legal questions and risks they encounter.

Pennsylvania charter schools face particular issues related to taxation, property use, personnel, and matters related to the charter application itself. These are in addition to many of the same legal issues faced by traditional schools, some of which become more complicated within the charter school context.

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From The Blog

Should Free Appropriate Public Education Be Extended to All Students?

March 20, 2019

Disabled students enjoy rights under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Recently, in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the Supreme Court ruled that trivial or insignificant progress is insufficient to provide FAPE under the IDEA. Under the IDEA, school districts must provide an... Read More...

The Nation‚Äôs Special Education Law: IDEA

January 10, 2019

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, commonly referred to as the IDEA, aims to provide children with disabilities across the nation with access to a free appropriate public education “that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.” The IDEA covers... Read More...

Technology in the Classroom: Rights and Responsibilities of Teachers

October 18, 2018

The increase in technology in the classroom is due to the realization that technology is necessary to prepare students for the world we live in. It has largely been a voluntary effort by school districts, who have the funds, embracing innovative and interesting ways to help students learn. There has also been growth in online... Read More...

Medical Marijuana Use at Schools In Pennsylvania

October 12, 2017

Following the enactment of Act 16 of 2016, also known as the Medical Marijuana Act, the use of certain forms of marijuana (termed “medical marijuana”) has become legal in Pennsylvania for certain serious medical conditions. This does not necessarily mean that school law in Pennsylvania permits the use of medical marijuana by staff or students.... Read More...

As you might imagine, the attorneys of Raffaele Puppio have a great deal of experience with contracts. Most of the contracts we draft and execute are not particularly newsworthy, but the contract executed on September 9 by one of our senior education law attorneys is an exception. We are delighted for our colleague, Gabrielle “Gabby”... Read More...

Special Education Law: What is KOSHK and Why is it Important?

June 15, 2016

An important fact in a special education due process proceeding is the “KOSHK” date, or the date that the parent “knew or should have known” about an alleged deprivation of special education. A “deprivation of special education” just mean that the parents are claiming that a child should have been provided with special education but... Read More...